That or which?

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'Which' or 'that'? What’s the difference?

If you’re confused by them, you’re not alone. Let me help you get your head around the issue once and for all!

Here’s two sentences:

'The dog, which my mother gave me, is called Jack.'

and

'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack.'

The first difference to note is the punctuation.

The sentence using 'which' has two commas, here and here.

The sentence using 'that' doesn’t have any commas at all. In fact, a good rule of thumb is you should never put a comma before that.

So this….

'The dog, that my mother gave me is called Jack.'

And this…

'The dog, that my mother gave me, is called Jack.'

Will always look wrong.

But there’s also a subtle difference in meaning - and those two commas in the sentence with which are key to helping us see it.

Notice how they function almost like brackets.

'The dog (which my mother gave me) is called Jack.'

The bit about my mother is almost incidental. The sense of the sentence is: 'I’ve got a dog called Jack and, oh by the way, he happened to be given to me by my mother.'

'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack' has slightly different overtones. In this case, the information provided after 'that' is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

It implies there may be other dogs - for example:

'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack …. but I also have another dog called Bob.'

To remember difference, just think 'WHITE'

Use which, for incidental information; that for essential information.

Now, these days, many writers use which without commas, when a careful writer would use that. For example:

'The dog which my mother gave me is called Jack, while the dog which my brother gave me is called Bob.'

Using the comma-less which instead of that here is so common, I’d say it’s become acceptable usage - except among the most pedantic of writers.

But that doesn’t mean which and that are completely interchangeable.

'The dog, that my mother gave me, is called Jack.' still always looks wrong. The that here needs to be a which,.

So just remember these three pieces of advice.

First, Never use a comma before 'that'.

Second: Remember: 'WHITE' - 'which', incidental, 'that' essential.

Third: If in doubt, use 'which' - it’s used more often, so you’ve got more chance of not being wrong!

I’m Dr Clare Lynch of Doris and Bertie. Subscribe to the channel for more quick writing tips!